CLEVELAND — As an NBA Coach, JB Bickerstaff is used to making headlines that are tied to his team's play on the court, but on this day, he's in the news tied to his comments on sports betting. In a pre-game news conference Wednesday, Bickerstaff said the harassment by sports bettors has "gone too far."
"I personally have had my own instances with some of the sports gamblers where they got my telephone number and were sending me crazy messages about where I live and my kids and all of that stuff, so it is a dangerous game and a fine line that we're walking for sure," he said.
He said he's pulled starters from a game with a sizeable lead, a normal coaching move, but he'll be yelled at by some fans in the seats who are concerned that without those players, the team won't cover the spread.
"It brings added pressure; it brings, you know, a distraction to the game that can be difficult for players, coaches, referees, everybody that's involved in it," he said. "And I think we really have to be careful with how close we let it get to the game."
That pressure surfaced last year in Ohio in the very first weeks of sports betting when University of Dayton Men's Basketball Coach Anthony Grant was forced to address messages of hate received by some of his players from gamblers upset about recent losses. Grant emotionally reminds fans that these are just kids, 18 to 22 years of age.
"It sickens me," Grant said. "They have families. They don't deserve that."
Ohio took the immediate step of passing legislation last year, giving the Casino Control Commission the authority to ban gamblers who make threats. And just last month Governor Mike DeWine teamed up with the NCAA to convince the Casino Control Commission to eliminate prop bets on college players in an effort to reduce the pressure on them. Moves in other states are now following
"Ohio has actually proven itself to be a bit of a trendsetter when it comes to the regulation of sports betting, even though it's a relatively new entrant," said Geoff Zochodne, a sports betting analyst with Covers.com. "The Casino Control Commission has shown itself to be not afraid to take action if it feels like it needs to."
Zochodne said he wasn't surprised by Bickerstaff's comments. "We actually heard similar rhetoric in the NBA pretty recently from Rudy Gobert and from Tyrese Haliburton," he said.
Gobert of the Timberwolves received a $100,000 fine from the NBA after making a monetary gesture towards refs when he was called for a foul late in a game against the Cavaliers. And Haliburton, an Indiana Pacers guard, told the Athletic, “To half the world, I’m just helping them make money on DraftKings or whatever. I’m a prop,” Haliburton said.
"So clearly, it's something that's on the mind of people that are in the league," Zochodne said.
The NCAA just this week launched their "Draw the Line" campaign aimed at educating college students about addiction and harassment after their research found one in three D1 athletes have received threats.
Bickerstaff meanwhile says the line between gambling and the game has never been closer. And he said he understands what some fans may have riding on a bet that's impacted by the people standing right in front of them.
"A lot of times the people who are gambling like, this money you know pays their light bill, pays their rent and then the emotions that come from that, so I do think we're walking a very fine line and we have to be extremely careful in protecting everybody who is involved."
A spokesperson for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine told News 5 their office has made sure the Ohio Casino Control Commission is aware of Coach Bickerstaff’s comments. "Governor DeWine is concerned about threats such as these, and he believes all Ohioans and sports fans should be concerned as well."
